Herina's Destiny
by mewtwofangirl
Summary: Herina was just an average farm girl and the daughter of an ex-warrior woman until Aeries killed her mother. But with her dying breath, her mother told her something she never expected to hear.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: Herina and Xena

It was a cool, crisp autumn evening, and Herina had finished helping her uncle with the chores at his ranch on the outskirts of the village, and had just returned home to help her mother prepare supper.

"Mother, I'm back!" she called. Andrea, widow of Dexius came out of the little Greek house and embraced her daughter.

"Herina, Darling. Did your uncle Estaclise enjoy the bread I sent?" Herina nodded.

"Yes, mother, very much so. Mother…there was a warrior woman fighting bandits away from the forest across from the ranch. Who was she? Did you know her when you were a warrior?" Andrea stopped chopping onions a moment.

"I might have. What did she look like love?" she asked quietly. Herina thought a moment.

"She had ebony hair, ice blue eyes, and there was a throwing ring at her belt." She replied. Andrea continued chopping onions and put them in the stew she was preparing before moving on to the carrots.

"Her I know VERY well. She is Xena; known as the Warrior Princess to most of those that speak of her. I used to be quite familiar with her and her army, but…that was a long time ago. Did she see you?" she asked. Herina shook her head.

"No, Mother. She didn't see me, Aunt Lucia called me in to wash up for lunch before I could even consider whether or not I even wanted to make myself known to Xena. She also had a blonde woman with her; an Amazon I think. Did you know-" Andrea put the carrots in the stew and turned to her daughter, a curious look on her face.

"An Amazon? I'm afraid that HER, I don't know, Darling. The only other female warrior I ever ran into when I was a warrior was Xena. Warrior women are seen once in a while, but not common. But enough talk about warriors. Go get washed up for supper." She said. Herina sighed, knowing that she wasn't going to get any farther on the topic with her mother, and did as she was told.

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As she laid in bed, Herina locked her ice blue gaze upon the ceiling. She couldn't sleep, she was too excited from having seen Xena fight. She never knew that it would be so exhilarating to see a battle. As she had watched Xena defeat the bandits, she memorized each and every movement. Exhaling, she sat up and thought.

{_If I wanted to train enough, could I fight like that too?_} She wondered. Deciding to test out her theory, she crept silently out of bed and snuck out of the house. Grabbing a pitch fork, she made her way out into an empty field to train.

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Hercules stopped dead in his tracks when he saw the teenage girl curse and pick up a pitch fork she had been maneuvering in a battle like fashion. Curious, he approached her.

"What are you doing?" he asked. Startled, the girl dropped the pitch fork on her foot (again) and frowned at him for distracting her.

"I'm practicing." She replied.

"For what?" Hercules asked. The girl blew a strand of raven hair out of her eyes.

"Fighting, of course. I would be using a sword, if I had one." She replied.

"…What's your name?" Hercules asked. The girl picked up her pitch fork.

"Herina. Yours?" she said.

"Hercules." He replied. Herina returned to her maneuvers with the farm tool.

"It's nice to meet you, Hercules. So…are you the famous half-god everyone is talking about?" she asked. Hercules nodded.

"Yes. Tell me, Herina, why would you be practicing for battle? Are you a warrior?" Herina shook her head.

"Not yet. Right now, I'm just a simple farm girl. But I plan to be a warrior some day." She replied, determination burning in her eyes. This was a look Hercules knew all too well.

"Well, I wish you the best. Perhaps when we meet again, you will be a warrior." He said, bidding her farewell before taking his leave. When he was out of sight of Herina, Hercules exhaled.

"Gods, she looks just like someone else I know…." He murmured.

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Herina snuck quietly back into the house and crawled into bed. After practicing (and actually mastering a few) some of Xena's fighting techniques, she was exhausted! No sooner had her head hit the pillow had she drifted off.

Later in the morning, Herina and her mother were startled awake by a loud and frantic knocking on the door. Jumping out of bed, Herina ran and opened the door. Gasping, she ushered the two people inside. One was the blonde Amazon woman that Herina had seen the previous day…and the other was Xena. Xena was carrying the amazon; who was injured badly in the side and on one arm.

"What happened?" Herina asked.

"We were blind sided. My friend Gabrielle couldn't counter attack in time. She needs help." Xena explained. Herina ran to get some herbs, while her mother went to fetch some water to clean the wound.

"I can take care of this, Darling. Go help your uncle now. He's probably expecting you." Andrea said. Herina nodded.

"Yes, Mother." She said, scurrying off. When Herina was gone, Xena glanced up at Andrea briefly.

"You've raised her well." She said. Andrea smiled as she bandaged Gabrielle's wounds.

"Maybe, Xena. But I can see more and more of her REAL mother in her everyday. It's strange though. I told her a few years ago that she was adopted, but…she hasn't asked questions about her real parents at all." Xena looked down.

"It's better that way, Andrea. For Herina's sake." She said quietly.

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Herina was somewhat disappointed to find that Xena and her friend Gabrielle had already gone. She had been greatly looking forward to talking to Xena and getting some fighting tips.

"I'm sure you'll get a chance someday. I doubt that'll be the first time they'll be passing through, Dearest. Now, go wash up for supper, Herina. I'm making your favorite soup." Andrea said, kissing her daughter on the forehead.

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As she laid down to sleep, Herina silently wished that the day would come soon that she would once again get a chance to talk to Xena.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Herina's Mourning and Secrets Unveiled

Herina's entire body went numb as she knelt beside her injured mother.

"Mother! Mother, who did this to you?" she sobbed. Andrea looked up at her daughter with a sad smile.

"Someone…you couldn't hope to have fought against and lived. He…that is…Aeries has taken my life because….he was after something I refused to surrender to him…Herina, Dearest. I am SO glad you're safe. Listen to me carefully….I've always loved you like you were my own….but there's….something….I should have told you….many years ago…when I told you….that you were adopted…..I should have told you…who your real mother is….and your father….your father….is H-Hercules…. A-and your mother...is…." Try as she might, Andrea could say no more, for the three fates had cut her life thread at that moment, and Lady Death had taken her soul to Tartarus for judgment.

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As she sang her song of mourning at her mother's…Andrea's grave, Herina glared up at the sky.

"Aeries… I swear to you…you will rue the day you so much as thought to step foot in this village. I swear that I will hunt you down like the animal you are, and I will send you down to hell." She murmured, closing her eyes and clenching her fists.

"Herina, I heard what happened. I'm so sorry." At the sound of the voice, Herina turned and glared angrily, pulling away when Hercules reached a hand out to comfort her.

"DON'T TOUCH ME! DON'T YOU DARE TOUCH ME! You are NOT my father! Whichever woman you laid with to conceive me…was NOT my mother! REAL PARENTS WOULDN'T HAVE ABANDONED THEIR CHILD! I only had ONE mother, and now…now she's DEAD! God or not, Aeries will DIE by MY hand! And as for you and my so-called mother, YOU CAN BOTH BURN AWAY IN TARTARUS! I HATE THE BOTH OF YOU!" she yelled, running away.

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Sobbing all the while, Herina stuffed a dagger her mother had kept hidden, a parcel containing two loaves of bread, and three apples into her shoulder sack with her blanket, some bandages, and a spare set of clothes. She couldn't stay in the village. There was nothing there for her now. Because her mother was dead, and she hated her birth parents with every fiber of her being, she had no other choice but to follow her own path.

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Herina had been on the road to Athens for three days, and she had happened upon a lake. When she stopped to fill her canteen, she heard footsteps approaching. All the pain and confusion she felt was forced aside as she drew her sword.

"Who's there?" she demanded. A man emerged from the trees.

"Relax. My name is Ieolis." He said. She glared at him.

"If you're here to rob me or rape me, I should warn you I'm not going to make it easy for you." She growled. Ieolis sighed.

"You weren't listening were you? I'm not going to hurt you. I'm a friend of Hercules." Herina swung her sword in a manor that reminded Ieolis of Xena.

"If you're a friend to Hercules, then you're no friend to me. Leave me be. I have no interest in whatever you came over here for." She growled. Ieolis stepped cautiously towards her.

"I'm sorry. From the back, I thought you were another friend of mine, so I came over here to say hello." Herina arched an eyebrow and lowered her sword, leaning back against a tree.

"Who did you think I was?" she asked. Ieolis exhaled and gave her a slight smile.

"I thought you were Xena." He said. Herina frowned slightly and looked down at her armor. Now that she thought about it, the armor she had DID look a lot like Xena's.

"Alright, I guess I can understand why you'd think that. But as you can see, I'm NOT Xena. My name is Herina." She said.

"Well, Herina, what're you doing out here?" Ieolis asked, standing in front of her. Herina scoffed.

"My mother is dead. Aeries killed her. She told me a few years back that she took me in when my real mother gave me up. With her dying breath, she told me the name of my real father. I assume she wanted me to be with my birth parents, but I cannot forgive them for abandoning me." She said coldly.

"Ieolis! Where are you?" at the sound of Hercules' voice, Herina's gaze shot forward.

"I'm over here, Hercules!" Ieolis called back. When he turned back to speak to Herina, she was gone. Ieolis frowned and looked around.

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Herina drew her sword and glared at the bandits surrounding her.

"Do you boys REALLY want to mess with me?" she growled. One of the bandits smirked and turned to the others.

"Imagine the price any warlord will pay us when we give them Xena's corpse." He said, turning to Herina. Herina raised her sword and blocked his own blade coming down to strike her. Smirking, she kicked him back and turned on one of the other men, stabbing him in the shoulder. Another man managed to grab her from behind. Herina jerked her arm forward and jammed it backward into his groin. Giving a cry of pain, he released her. With a warrior cry mimicking Xena's, Herina cart wheeled backward and took a whip from her belt, wrapping it around one of the bandit's ankles and tripping him. Despite her efforts, it didn't take long for her to become exhausted. When she thought she wouldn't last any longer, another warrior cry called out from the trees and a familiar humming sound came forward. Before the confused men knew what was happening, they were all knocked off their feet by Xena's chakrum. Looking up, Herina could see said warrior leap out of one of the trees to catch her weapon when it came back towards her. Most of the men had fled, but the warrior princess managed to get a hold of one of them and pinch his neck, paralyzing him temporarily.

"I've just blocked off the blood flow to your brain. You'll be dead in less than a minute unless you tell me why you were attacking this girl." She growled. The man looked up at her, fear in his eyes.

"W-we thought she was you! Reidus offered to pay us a lot of money if we killed you and brought your body back to him." He said. Xena clenched one of her fists and, after releasing him from her death pinch, knocked the bandit unconscious. Herina picked her sword up and sheathed it.

"Thanks." She said emotionlessly. Xena walked over to her.

"What're you doing out here? You should be home." She said, moving to put a hand on Herina's shoulder. Herina pulled away.

"I don't have a home anymore, Xena. Not back there. My mother was killed by Aeries. I'm on my way to Athens to find work. I know she told me who my real father was with the intention that I start traveling with him, but I don't think I could ever forgive him or my birth mother for leaving me." Xena cleared her throat, fighting back the pain she felt at Herina's words.

"Herina, I'm sure…I'm sure your birth mother never stopped thinking about you...never stopped MISSING you. And as for Hercules…you can't hate him. He never knew he had a daughter." Herina; who had started to walk away, stopped and wheeled around to face Xena.

"Wait a minute, how did YOU know that my father was Hercules?" she demanded. Xena looked down and Herina's eyes widened in realization.

"Oh my god….YOU'RE my…" she trailed off, not wanting to say the word "mother". Xena looked up at her.

"I wanted to tell you when Gabrielle and I were there that day, but for Andrea's sake, I didn't. I never even told Hercules." Herina said nothing. She wanted SO badly to hate Xena, but for some reason, she couldn't bring herself to. Now that she thought about it, she knew of Xena's former reputation, she could understand WHY Xena would want to give her to a friend to raise and care for.

". . . .It's funny…I want to hate you for leaving me….for never visiting me at the very least, but because I understand why you did what you did…and AGREE with it to a certain extent… I could never hate you." She said after a moment. Xena looked up, her eyes showed relief. Before she could speak, though, Herina continued.

"However, while I can eventually forgive you for giving me up, I don't think I could do so right away. Take me with you, Xena. Teach me how to improve my fighting skills." She pleaded. Xena's eyes widened.

"Herina, I can't risk anything happening to you. You need to go somewhere that you'll be safe." She said. Herina clenched her fists.

"Don't you get it, Xena? I'm safest with YOU! I told you it was Aeries that killed Andrea! What if he thinks that she gave whatever he was after to ME for safe keeping?" she exclaimed. Xena gave her daughter a puzzled look.

"What do you mean 'whatever he was after', Herina?" she asked. Herina sighed.

"With her dying breath, she told me he attacked her because she refused to surrender something to him, and then she told me my father was Hercules. She tried to tell me you were my mother, but….then she died." She said, looking down as tears formed in her eyes. Xena hesitantly pulled the teenager into a hug. Sobbing, Herina held the Warrior Princess tightly. Unsure of what else to do, Xena began to sing, and soon felt Herina's breath shallow. When she looked down, she saw that her daughter had fallen asleep.

"You're right, you ARE only safe with me. Because Aeries is sure to come after you soon. But don't worry. I'm not going to let that bastard touch you." She whispered, kissing Herina's forehead softly.


End file.
